As Chardyn stood there he saw the body twitch. One hand opened and closed. The leg jerked. Eldicar’s eyes flared open. Blood bubbled from his ruined chest, but the wound began to close.
Lailtia dropped to her knees beside the magicker and rammed her dagger into his throat, severing the jugular. Blood pumped out. Eldicar’s eyes stayed open for a little while, wide and terrified. Then they closed, and all movement ceased.
Benae Tarlin moved alongside Chardyn, and then the other townspeople crowded around.
‘All praise to the Source!’ someone said.
‘The spear of lightning,’ said another.
Chardyn looked up from the charred corpse and saw people staring at him, their faces awestricken. Benae Tarlin took his hand and kissed it. Chardyn realized that the crowd were waiting for him to say something; some grand words, something memorable to match the occasion. But he had nothing to say.
He turned away from them and began the long walk back to Carlis.
Lalitia came alongside him, taking his arm. ‘Well, you are a saint now, my friend,’ she said. ‘A man of miracles.’
‘It was no miracle. He was struck by lightning in a storm,’ said Chardyn. ‘And I am a fraud.’
‘How can you say that? You promised them the Source would strike him down. He was struck down. Why do you continue to doubt?’
Chardyn gave a sigh. ‘I am a liar and a charlatan. You – though I love you dearly – are a whore and a thief. You think the Source would work his wonders through people like us?’
‘Perhaps that is the real miracle,’ she said.
The fingers of Waylander’s left hand were cramping as he eased himself up the wall, reaching for the cracks where the sections of marble dressing joined. The cracks were thin, no more than half an inch wide in places. Rain swept over him, making the handholds slippery. Waylander paused and opened and closed his left fist, trying to keep the fingers supple. Then he pushed on.
A figure appeared on the balcony just above him. Waylander froze. Lightning flashed over the bay and the assassin saw in its fierce light a nightmare face. Hideously stretched at the temples, the head was triangular, with huge almond-shaped eyes. The texture of the grey skin was scaly, like that of a serpent. Then the creature moved back from the balcony and into the tower beyond. Waylander gripped one of the stone balcony rails and hauled himself up. Lifting the crossbow from the clip at his belt, he vaulted the rail then dived into the room.
Something bright flashed by his face. He rolled to his right. A second burning missile flew past. Coming to his knees, bow raised, he saw the creature’s hand come up. A ball of fire appeared in the palm. Waylander shot swiftly. The bolt slammed through the fiery globe, embedding itself in the shoulder of the creature. It leapt forward, then spun, its huge tail raking out. Waylander threw himself to his left. A sharp claw missed him by inches. He shot again. The bolt sliced through the creature’s face. It reared up, then fell heavily. Waylander notched the upper string of his bow and slipped another bolt into place.
The creature lay still.
Suddenly Waylander felt immense pity for it, and a powerful yearning to befriend the beast. He knew, in that instant, that it could not be evil, that it desired only love and friendship. He could not believe that he had come here to kill it. The creature rose slowly and turned. Waylander relaxed. Then his eyes fell upon the bodies around the walls. In the corner he saw a dried-out husk. Braided golden hair clung to the skull. He knew the style of the braid. The corpse had once been Norda.
He looked back at the creature. Never in his life had he known such love as he felt now. From somewhere deep in his mind he recalled Ustarte telling him about the charm-spell used by Deresh Karany. The creature was closer now. Its tail swept round, the claw glinting in the lantern-light.
‘Will you die for me?’ asked the creature sweetly.
‘Not tonight,’ said Waylander. With a huge effort of will he raised his weapon and touched the trigger. The bolt tore through the creature’s neck. Deresh Karany gave a terrible cry. The spell broke.